Maybe Next Time
by Kuroaki
Summary: An graduates, Momo is stupid, and Yuuta needs to be smacked.


"Happy graduation!"

An could not help grinning as she scrambled across the front lawn of the university looking for her mortarboard. Spotting it on a lonely bush some metres in front, she made a beeline for it, knocking into about 4 people on the way.

"An!" An turned and grinned at Momoshiro who was enthusiastically waving and knocking down several mortarboards off heads.

"Cool it with the waving," An remarked. "You might kill someone out there."

"Congratulations!" Momoshiro bellowed.

An grimaced. "Yes. I'm not deaf, thanks." The two of them pushed their way out of the throng of fallen mortarboards, discarded graduation gowns and scrolls.

"I can't believe it's finally over," An breathed as they headed for open space.

"I know!" Momoshiro shook his head. "Seems like only yesterday we were freshmen. So this is it, huh?"

"Yeah," An agreed. "…it what?"

"Oh you know. You don't want me to say it."

"Yes I do. I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"The brother!"

"Ssh!" An glanced around her. "He could have been behind us!"

"He's not yet graduating, why would he be here?"

An rolled her eyes. "I wonder why I bother communicating with you. But yes, well, to answer your question….this is it then."

"I wanna drink, want one?"

"Sure." They headed towards the nearest vending machine in sight.

"I really think you should-"

"No. I already told you, I'd rather die than tell him. Really. Not even in a foreign language. That's just stupid."

"You know what's stupid?" Momoshiro remarked, digging in his pocket for coins. "That you pined after a guy for like what, 6 years…and never even told him."

"It's not stupid. I'd really rather not. Besides, maybe I don't like him anymore."

Momoshiro snorted. An kicked. "Buy me food," she demanded. "I'm hungry."

Momoshiro grumbled, but he knew 'no' was not an option. "Okay. I'll buy you food, if you tell him."

"How idiotic. He's not even here, how do I tell him?"

"He's right there!"

"What?" An whipped around, knocking Momoshiro's drink out of his hand. "Damn it! You planned-" She turned around to empty space behind her. "Arse!"

She had options, An surmised. She could hide behind the vending machine-

"Hey."

Too late. An turned around, grinning weakly. "Er, hello." _Make conversation, _she told herself sternly. "Where're you headed?"

Fuji Yuuta frowned and took out his wallet. "Uh, Momoshiro told me he wanted to pass me something. I thought I saw him behind the vending machines just now…where'd he go?"

"Oh, he has incontinence," An said breezily, feeling satisfaction at getting revenge. Small as it may be.

Yuuta laughed. "Really?"

"Ask him if you don't believe me." An watched him dig out his can of Pocari.

"So, how does it feel to graduate?" he asked amicably.

"Sucks. I gotta work now."

He laughed. "That's true." Open can. "Are you waiting for Momoshiro as well?"

An wondered, herself. "Nah, I don't think so. We weren't really doing anything, just wanted a drink. Actually I was going to get a free meal off him, but I don't think he's going to give it to me."

"Maybe that's why he ran," Yuuta said, half-seriously.

"Yeah, maybe."

Silence.

"Guess…I'll go now."

"Okay. See you."

An smiled. "Probably not anymore, you know."

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

_Totally not buying it, as usual, _An thought. She gave a small wave and forced herself to walk away.

Then stopped.

"Hey, Yuuta!"

He turned to her. "Yeah?"

"We're not going to see each other anymore, right?"

He blinked. "If you say so…?"

"Well then, can I just say something?"

"…sure?"

This was it. "....I'm glad I got to know you!"

He smiled. "Me too."

"Remember once I asked you to pose for a picture?"

"…when was that?"

An burst out laughing. "You really never change. 4 years ago. At the end of high school."

"…hmm…"

"Well, it doesn't matter, but I did it because I was dared!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Dared?"

"Yeah!" But still she could not say it. "Well….bye." She turned to go.

"Why were you dared?"

She turned back. He had taken a few steps closer to her.

An grinned weakly. "Er. Random?"

"Oh." He gave a small laugh, the laugh that he gave all the time, that annoyed her because she knew he didn't really find it funny.

"Nah, there's actually a reason, but it's too embarrassing to say, so you can keep on wondering."

"Huh?"

"Man." An was feeling annoyed now. He was _always _like this. Clueless, forgetful, irresponsive. "You know what, I've always wondered - why do you forget everything I say?"

He was starting to look surprised now. Satisfied that she was finally evoking some other reaction other than the fake laugh, An knew that she was travelling a path she couldn't turn back from.

"Because I remember everything you say," An was starting to pick up speed, "I remember what time you leave your house on Monday, Wednesday and Friday because I ran into you once, on each of those days, I remember everything you ever said about me, or about someone else, or about yourself, and it's so idiotic that you can't even be bothered to spell out 'thanks' that one time you sent me a message-"

He was looking positively confused now. Good, An thought savagely. Maybe it was a good thing she was letting all the hidden feelings out.

"-because I was so darn happy just to get any message from you, but well, that shows how stupid I was to care about someone who couldn't really be fussed." She took a deep breath. "But…it was still nice knowing you."

He blinked.

"Have a good life." An resolutely turned and left, walking briskly, gathering speed until she broke into a run. She knew she was leaving one heck of a bewildered Yuuta behind, but she didn't care. Liberated yet horrified at what she had just done, she finally slowed down a good distance away. The graduation gown was rather heavy.

She picked up her phone and called Momoshiro.

"You owe me a meal."

--

"Yuuta!"

Yuuta stopped and turned. Momoshiro was catching up with him some ten metres behind. Yuuta slowed. He wasn't in a rush.

"Hey," Momoshiro caught up with him, panting. "Where're you headed?"

"Back home to the dorm, I guess." Then Yuuta remembered. Momoshiro had already graduated. "What are you doing here?"

"Met up with some juniors," Momoshiro answered airily. "Hey, got a second to spare?"

He wondered, but didn't show it. "Sure."

Momoshiro scratched his head and grinned awkwardly. "I…uh…I heard An told you something."

Hmm. "Something what?"

"Um, I don't know. The day I was going to pass you my textbook – convocation."

Yuuta kept silent.

"At the vending machines…"

"Yeah, I remember," Yuuta finally supplied.

"Listen, you…" Momoshiro sounded like he didn't know what to say. "You're not angry at An, or think she's weird, do you?"

Yuuta looked at him quizzically. "No. Why would I?"

"Well," Once again Momoshiro looked unsure of his words. "She said some pretty weird things."

"She told you?"

"Yeah." Then, as if he thought the better of it, he added. "Well you know us. We've been good friends since forever."

"Yeah."

"So you're not mad."

"No."

Momoshiro laughed in relief. "Great."

"Actually, I'm not sure what exactly she was saying…"

"What?" Momoshiro stared at him incredulously. "She was saying…"

Yuuta waited, but Momoshiro seemed unsure. "What did you think she was saying?" he finally supplied.

Yuuta wondered, himself. "I don't know…something about caring about someone who couldn't be fussed."

Momoshiro nodded. "Yeah."

"She was referring to me?"

Momoshiro smacked his forehead. "Of course! Who else?"

So that was it, Yuuta thought. So he hadn't been hallucinating. "So she…"

"Yeah."

"Um." Yuuta didn't know what he was supposed to say. "Okay."

"Okay?!?!" Momoshiro stared at him, incredulous. "What do you mean, okay?"

"Well…what?"

"I mean, I don't know, are you, do you…"

"Do I .."

"Yeah."

Yuuta didn't know. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

Momoshiro looked disbelieving. "Oookay."

"Nah I mean, she's nice and everything, but I never thought of her as …you know. I'm just not thinking about it now."

Momoshiro nodded. "Okay."

"Did she ask you to –"

"No, no," Momoshiro denied hastily. "Just by chance I saw you. And wondered."

"Okay." Yuuta paused. "But…I'm touched. Could you tell her thanks?"

Momoshiro burst out laughing. "She would positively hate you for that. Tell her yourself." They stopped at the gate of Yuuta's dorm house. "Well….talk to you some time."

"Okay." Yuuta watched him walk off for a while before he entered the gate.

_Tell her thanks? How? _Yuuta couldn't really be fussed. Was it necessary?

He took out his mobile and looked at it. Somehow it seemed insincere. It had already been more than a week. But still, better late than never.

But he didn't want to give her expectations.

Yuuta shrugged and tossed his phone onto the desk and himself into bed, face down.

_Maybe next time._

**A/N: wanted to do it in 2 chapters, but in the end couldn't be fussed.**

**Sorry. I'm graduating soon so maybe that's why I wrote this. Harharharhr. Was inspired by JEW's Hear You Me and The Fray. I'm sorry this came out instead of a fic update, my muse didn't come for that one. I have 3 papers due, but well…heh.**


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